Container



Oct. 9, 1934. J. R. WATKINS 1,976,693

CONTAINER Filed April 22, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l Patented Oct. 9, 1934 comma James R. Watkins, Niles Center, 111. Application April 22, 1933, Serial No. 667,820

Claims.

This invention pertains to containers in general and particularly to those which may be collapsed for shipment when not in use.

In general the object of this invention is to 5 provide improvements in collapsible containers and particularly such improvements as concern the use of easily applied'and otherwise meri-' torious material for hinging the containers at their corners.

The advantages of the invention and the manner of using it will be demonstrated and more fully explained in the specification wherein two embodiments of the invention are shown and explained for illustrative purposes.

Fig. 1 is a perspective of one form of a closed container made in accordance with this invention, 4

Fig. 2 is a cen ral horizontal section through the container shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the bottom closure member for the crate shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of an open type of crate made in accordance with this invention,

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view on the linen-5 of Fig. 4:, and

Fig. 6 is a perspective of the bottom closure member for the crate shown in Fig. 4.

Referring now to Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, the drawings therein illustrate how the invention may be utilized to provide solid walls of ply wood reinforced by cleats and with the walls hinged together by means of fiber board scored to facilitate bending. Ply wood is selected for this embodiment of the invention for the reason that it is practically impossible to successfully score ply wood in considerable thicknesses to provide ply wood walls hinged together by the material itself. Strap metal hinges, wire hinges and the standard forms of hinges employed for doors and the like have various disadvantages for use in hinging ply wood walls together that are obviated when fiber board, as in this invention, is employed as the hinge material.

45 For example, the four side walls of this container numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4 are formed of ply wood and strips of fiber board extending longitudinally of the juncture of these walls and having considerable width are applied to the ends of the walls at the cornersfi, 6, 7 and 8.

These strips of fiber board are scored as indicated in Fig. 2 to facilitate bending and may be secured to the ply wood by wire stitching, tacks, adhesive material, or the nails which hold the cleats may pass through the ply wood, the fiber board and the cleats themselves,,being clinched over on the outside to hold the three materials firmly together. This method of assembly is illustrated in Fig. 2 wherein nails 9 having large 00 heads are passed through the fiber board walls through the strips of fiber board 5. 6. '7 and 8 and thence through the vertical cleats 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 1'1 and 18. As many nails of this character may be employed as are necessary to provide a firm connection between the hinge material and the walls that are hinged, and as well to secure the cleats in position as indicated. Of course, the other suggested means of securing these parts may also be employed either in substitution for the nails or in addition thereto.

It should be apparent that when these ply wood walls are so hinged together the hinging is of a firm character, allowing no vertical displacement or yield of one wall relatively to the other wall but, nevertheless, permitting free motion of any two walls about the vertical axis of their corners. At the same time the corners so hinged together by the fiber board, preferably a continuous imperforated strip, will be sealed at such points against the entry of dust, rain and the like.

As indicated in Fig. 1, the comer cleats extend up above and below the horizontal margins of the ply wood walls a suflicient distance so that their ends are preferably flush with the outside surfaces of the top and bottom closure members. Additional vertical reinforcing cleats 19 and 21 are also provided and secured to the ply wood walls securely, as by nails or by other suitable .90 securing means, to reinforce the ply wood and to enable the top and bottom closure members to be secured to these vertical cleats and thus locked together.

For a closed type of container such as Fig. 1 915 discloses there is provided preferably a bottom wall 22 also made usually of ply wood and reinforcing strips 23, 24 and 25, the outside members 23 and 25 extending laterally beyond the edges of the ply wood bottom wall in order that they may overlap the bottom edges of the side walls 1 and 3 to fit snugly against the vertical cleats 13, 14, 1'7 and 18 so that nails may then be driven through the ends of the' vertical cleats into the sides of the horizontal cleats 23 and 25. The number of nails applied at these points is, of course, variable depending upon the size of the particular containers and the wood strips which they employ. In the embodiment illustrated the center side cleats 19 and 21 should be recessed 1 0 I 8 attached to his merchandise to prevent it from wood sheet 28 and three horizontal cleats 29,'

31 and 32. These are assembled in the same manner as are the elements of the bottom closure member and are secured to the cleats on the side and end walls as are the bottom closure member cleats. V

It will now be understood that the cleats on the-side walls, top and bottom walls all reinforce the sheets of material to which they are secured and that they themselves may be locked together by suitable nailing in the manner above described to provide a rigid crate structure having cleat members all interlocked and reinforcing as well as reinforced by the continuous sheets of material, such as ply wood, to which they are secured. The hinge "material at the corners, namely the fiber board, further contributes to the solidity of the structure. Nevertheless, as is indicated in Fig. 2, before the top and bottom closure members have been placed in position the four side walls of the container may readily be collapsed .and will fold flatly together.

Thus the hinged side walls may be collapsed and, accompanied by the'top and bottom closure members, may be conveniently shipped from a box factory to a user of the containers who may desire to place his merchandise in them. The user can readily extend the side walls from their collapsed position, drop it down over his article of merchandise, such as an electric refrigerator for example, and secure the top closure member in place firmly by nails, screws or the like. In the instance mentioned, of course,

the bottom closure members would be placed under the refrigerator first so that the dropping down of the side walls would make them fit immediately over the bottom closure member.

It will be observed furthermore that the pres-" .ence of the reinforcing cleats makes it easy and very practical for the shipper of the merchandise'to install reinforcing or blocking members shifting within the container wherever the container itself does not fit the merchandise with sufiicient snugness to render such blocking precautions unnecessary. 1

- While ply wood walls will probably be used, most frequently in carrying out the principles of this invention, yet the invention comprehends the use of some other stiff materials which can equally well cooperate with the cleats in fanning reinforced boxes and which is unsuitable for scoring or sharp bending at the cor-. ners.

It should be understood also that one may employ fiber board i'or the top and bottom closure members, or even solid wood may. be so employed in place of the ply wood. g

It should be noted that when all the cleats are nailed together the plywood wall and closure surfaces could be cut away, and there would remain an open crate formed only of cleats, but having considerable strength and rigidity.

4, while the bottom closure Another embodiment of the invention is found in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, these figures illustrating an open type of crate. The open type of crate, of which an orange box is an example, consists of slats of varying width, depending'upon the merchandise being shipped and usually where this open slat work is employed the slats or strips of wood are thin and do not hold nails very well or cannot stand much distortionai pressure on nails driven through them. Hinging of crates of this type to make them conveniently collapsible has not heretofore met with much success, but through the medium of this invention the hinging of these open types of crates is easily accomplished and is entirely practical.

Obviously the number of slats on the sides, top and bottom of the crate which embodies this invention is subject to considerable variation, but for the purpose of illustrating the invention only a few in number are shown. Forexampie, the crate in Fig. 4 has three slats on each of the four side walls and three slats on the top and'bottom closure members. The side wall slats which showin the drawings are designated 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48; 49 and 51. These side slats are connected together by vertically extending strips of fiber board 52, 53, 54 and 55 located at the comers as shown. The fiber board corner pieces when secured to the horizontal wooden slats constitute very efficient hinge material which affords considerable rigidity to the structure to prevent distortion, yet permits the four. side walls to be collapsed into a fiat package as is suggested by the dotted line in Fig. 5. The fiber board may be secured to the slats by means of tacks, adhesive wire stitching, nails, or other suitable fastening means. Simultaneously or otherwise the vertical side wall cleats which arev shown in contact with the fiber corner hinges may be secured to the fiber by nails or any suitable fastening means.

The vertical cleats on the opposite side walls, designated by the numerals 56, 57, 58, 59, 61 and 62, preferably extend both above and below the upper and bottom margins of the side walls so that the ends of thesevertical cleats may be nailed or otherwise secured to the cleats which are shown on the top and bottom closure members, namely, the cleats 63, 64, 65 and 66.

. At the ends of the container there are provided the vertical cleats 67 and 68 Joinedtogether by horizontal cleats 69 and 71, whose upper and lower limits are flush with the upper and bottom edges of the end wall so that the cleats on the top and bottom closure members may overlie them. and be firmly nailed to them. Corresponding vertical cleats 72 and 73 are provided on the other end 'wall' of the container joined together by, a bottom horizontal cleat 74 and corresponding top horizontal cleat 7-5. An additional centrally located cleat 76 is provided on the top closure member: and a corresponding cleat 77 on the bottom closure member.

The top closure member cleats secure together the three slats 78, 79 and 61, as shown in Fig. member shown in Fig. 6 consists of the three slats 82, 83 and 84 joined together by their cleats 65.

It is apparent that it is a task to drive nails through the top and bottom ends of the side wall cleats such as 56, 57 andtil and the corresponding cleats on the other side to lock the closure members in the crate, aad that the overhanging ends of the cleats on the top and bottom closure members may be nailed to the horizontal cleats suchas 69, '11 and the associated vertical corner cleats of the end walls. Thus the structure may be made rigid by interlocking of the cleats, the cleats and the slats reinforcing each other to constitute a crate of surprising rigidity. In fact the assembly of cleats when nailed together as described would stand by themselves even if the slats were all cut away carefully, and would remain as an open crate structure-of considerable strength and rigidity. Nevertheless, prior to the insertion of the top and bottom closure members the side walls are readily collapsible, and may be shipped together with top and bottom closure members in a fiat compact package. The hinged relationship of the four side walls makes it a simple matter to drop.them down over the article of merchandise to be crated, thus eliminating much labor in the actual crating of the merchandise at the point of crating.

While ordinarily thin wood slats and fiber board will constitute the material of which these open type crates are made, employing the principles of this invention, it is clear that ply wood slats or other slat material incapable of being itself creased and folded at the corners may be employed. For the hinge material fiber board is preferred because of its adaptability as hinge material and the rigidity which it gives to the parts to which it is secured, without involving any great expense in securing these advantages. Some other material for the hinges, among the various paper products, or even other products, might be substituted for fiber board, provided it had substantially the same desirable characteristics.

For the crating of some kinds of merchandise it may be necessary to use solid bottom or top closure members to support the merchandise or to facilitate securing it within the crate, and all such modifications are contemplated and included within this invention. Blocking or special braces within the crate to which the merchandise may be secured are obviously readily secured directly or indirectly to the cleat structure and by reason of the interlocked cleat structure the strains thus imposed are readily transposed to the entire assembly of cleats.

It should be understood that the drawings illustrate only the preferred embodiments of the invention, and that other embodiments and modifications are contemplated and may be devised which will, nevertheless, remain within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Having shown and described my invention, I claim:

1. In a container, enclosing walls formed of stiff fibrous material incapable of being sharply bent back fiatlyupon itself on a creased line without destruction, fiber board strips firmly secured to said walls at their adjacent edges to form flexible corners for the container, the fiber board being creased and acting as hinges to permit adjacent walls to be folded back fiatly one upon the other, cleats secured to the outside surface of the side walls of the container, and end closure members comprising sheet material provided with outside cleats the latter end closure members of a fibrous material probeing arranged to overlap some and to be overlapped by others of the first said wall cleats, permitting the closure and wall cleats to be nailed together to form a rigid incollapsible structure.

2. In a container, a plurality of side walls composed of stiff fibrous sheet material incapable of being folded sharply back upon itself fiatly without damage, fiber board strips hingedly joining adjacent edges of said walls, said strips being foldable sharply back upon themselves and arranged to facilitate fiat collapsing of said walls, wood cleats on the outside of said walls parallel to the hinged corners, and rigid end closure members having wooden elements rigidly connected to each other, said elements and the side wall cleats being positioned for being nailed together.

3. In a container,- aplurality of walls composed of fibrous material of athickness and character rendering them incapable of being creased and folded 180 back upon themselves without damage, stiff fiber boardstrips firmly secured to adjacent margins of adjoining walls to form freely flexible hinges stiiily resisting distortional stresses, wooden cleats firmly secured to the outside wall surfaces running parallel to the hinged corners, and top and bottom closure members comprising sheet material and cleats secured to the outside surfaces thereof, the cleats of the closure members being arranged to abut cleats on all of the side walls to facilitate their being nailed thereto to. thereby form a rigid structure of the cleats capable of standing alone without support from the sheet and wall material but reinforced thereby.

4. In an open style container, side walls each comprising spaced apart thin wood slats and thicker wo'od cleats secured tothe outside surfaces of the slats rigidly uniting them, fiber board strips secured to the slats along the adjacent wall corners sharply foldable to permit fiat collapsing together of said walls, said cleats extending from end to end of the container and vided with wood cleats which are arranged when located in the container ends to be nailed to said wall cleats to form a rigid container.

5. In a container, a plurality of walls composed of fibrous material of a thickness and 125 character rendering them incapable of being creased and folded 180 back upon themselves without damage, stiff fiber board strips firmly secured to adjacent margins of adjoining walls scored to form freely flexible hinges stiffiy resisting distortional stresses, wooden cleats firmly secured to the outside wall surfaces running parallel to and adjoining the hinged corners and to which said strips are also secured, and top and bottom closure members comprising sheet material and cleats secured to the outside surfaces thereof, the cleats of the closure members being arranged to abut cleats on all of the side walls to facilitate their being nailed thereto to thereby form a rigid structure of the cleats capable of standing alone without support from the sheet and wall material but reinforced thereby. 7

JAMES R. WATKINS. 

